A slide fastener of the related art is known to include a pair of left and right tape members, a pair of fastener element rows attached to core strings which are provided along opposite tape side edges of the left and right tape members, and a slider that engages and disengages the pair of fastener element rows.
Conventionally, there is disclosed a slide fastener in which the front surface side shape of a fastener element is formed like a shape such as a button, a hook, etc., for providing a decorative function (see e.g. Patent Documents 1 to 3). In the slide fastener described in Patent Document 1, the front part and the rear part of a fastener element are formed in the same shape of substantially a mushroom, and an imitation jewel is disposed on the front side of the fastener element to provide a decorative feature. In the slide fastener described in Patent Document 2, a fastener element has a substantially rectangular front part and a rear part with a tooth part and recess parts that mesh with each other, and the front part is provided with the decorative feature. In the slide fastener described in Patent Document 3, an upper part of a rectangular element body is formed with a spherical-shaped segment and an lower part of the element body is formed with a hemispherical recess so that the spherical-shaped segment of adjacent element can engage with the hemispherical recess, and an imitation jewel or the like is arranged on the front side of the element body to provide the decorative feature. For improvement of the designability, the side fasteners described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are configured such that the elements are attached to the fastener stringer such that the element rows are arranged in a linear fashion when the elements are engaged.